


The Sea Wife

by coyotesuspect



Category: The Immortals - Tamora Pierce
Genre: Gen, Misses Clause Challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-19
Updated: 2014-12-19
Packaged: 2018-03-02 04:19:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2799302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coyotesuspect/pseuds/coyotesuspect
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daine visits her friend Miri's seaside hometown and meets a mysterious woman. A case of mistaken identity results. Set between Wild Magic and Wolf-Speaker.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Sea Wife

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kol](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kol/gifts).



> Dear Kol, Happy Yuletide! I was inspired by your prompt asking for more of Daine and the sea. I hope you enjoy!

They topped the last of the large sea hills and Miri’s face broke open into a tremendous grin. 

“That’s it! That’s home!” She laughed, sounding surprised. “I never thought I’d be so happy to see it.” 

Daine smiled. Her friend’s joy was infectious. 

“It’s lovely,” she said. 

And it was. Miri’s home was a small fishing village, a patch of weathered but welcoming buildings tucked up against a natural harbor. The late afternoon light turned the buildings red and orange, and out on the sea, Daine could make out the dark, small shapes of the fishing boats Miri had told her so much about. A few were just starting to pull up their nets and turn back to shore. 

Miri and the other trainees had been given a week off at the end of summer training, their first significant period to themselves. And Miri had wanted to go home. It had marked the end of Daine’s contract with Onua, as well, and Daine had convinced Numair she could learn just as well visiting Miri’s home as she could back in Corus and that, besides, Miri had an uncle who spoke with dolphins and meeting someone else gifted with wild magic could only be good for Daine. 

Miri’s pony broke into a trot, letting out a loud “warcry” that their friend, the former Player Evin, had taught them. Daine paused, watching her friend race down towards the town. 

“Something on your mind?” asked Numair, leaning over from his horse to tug one of her curls. 

“Miri’s just changed so much since I met her,” said Daine, smiling. “She never would have charged down the hill like that before.” 

\-----

Miri's mother met them at the door. She had her daughter's snub nose and kind smile, and, after grabbing Miri and holding her tightly to her chest, turned and greeted Daine and Numair.

“This is my mother, Thea,” said Miri. She gestured towards Daine and Numair. “And this is Daine and Numair.” 

“It’s lovely to finally meet you,” said Thea, still clasping her daughter closely. “Miri’s written about you both.” 

She turned and ushered them into her home. The house was small, but it made good use of its space. Dried fish hung near the hearth, and jars of preservatives lined the mantle. A pot full of something rich and fishy smelling bubbled over a low fire. It wasn’t quite the same sights and smells of her old home in Galla, but the spirit was similar. After a near-year spent either in the company of nobles or sleeping in the wilds, it was a comfort to Daine to be back somewhere that felt this familiar. 

"The men will be home after supper," Miri's mother told them, finally letting go of Miri as she went to stir the pot. "But your uncle’s already down by the cove. He said you should stop by if you have time." 

Miri turned to Daine. 

“You’re going to love him, Daine. He’s the one I told you about – the one who can talk to dolphins. I wrote him about you and he said he’s really interested to meet you.”

“I’d have to leave Kitten alone…” said Daine. She wanted to go, but the dragon was still an infant, and a day’s ride was tiresome for her. She was curled up asleep in Daine’s arms, head poking out of the saddlebag she’d ridden in all day. But Daine knew as soon as she woke up, she’d want food and attention. 

“I can take care of her for the evening, Daine,” said Numair. Then he narrowed his eyes. “Though if I recall, last time you _stopped your heart_ trying to listen to the dolphins…”

Daine flushed bright red, but Miri waved her hand dismissively. 

“She knows what she’s doing now, Numair. And I can always haul her out of the water if she falls in.” 

A small smile tugged at the corner of Numair’s mouth. 

“Very well,” he said. 

Miri beamed and grabbed Daine’s arm, dragging her to the door. 

“Be back before dark!” Miri’s mother called after them.

Miri snorted as soon as they were out of earshot. “Back before dark! Like she doesn’t know I’m a Rider now!”

But she was still smiling, and Daine had to fight a small surge of jealousy that Miri still had a mother to fret over her. 

\-----

"Have you talked much with dolphins?" asked Miri's uncle, calling from where he treaded water several yards from shore.

Miri had led Daine to a cove, where the water was clear and dark and deep. Her uncle had been waiting, already speaking with a pod of dolphins who splashed and leapt around him. Their voices were bright and cheerful, and just from overhearing their conversations with Miri’s uncle, Daine could tell he was well-known and beloved by them. 

Daine shook her head shyly. She felt as if she were intruding on a group of close-knit friends.

“Not as much as I’ve wanted to,” she called back. She bent down and took off her boots and socks and then rolled up her leggings. Her feet were dusty from the day’s ride, and the water felt cool and cleansing as she stepped in. She waded up to her knees, keeping a careful eye on the water in case of a sudden drop off. 

Two of the dolphins split from the pod and swam towards her immediately, whistling curiously. Daine greeted them silently and their whistles turned to delight. 

You’re just like him! crowed one of the dolphins. She lifted her tail and then brought back it down hard, sending a wave crashing across Daine. 

Daine laughed loudly and splashed the dolphin back, then reached out. Extending her arm as far as she could, she could just touch the dolphin’s nose. The texture was unlike anything Daine had ever touched before. It was smooth and hard, but somehow yielding at the same time. She stroked the dolphin’s nose gently, admiring its sleek shape and wide grin.

You’re lovely, Daine told the dolphin. 

“She’s cursed smart, too,” said Miri’s uncle, swimming over to join them. The other dolphins trailed behind him lazily. 

Daine looked up, startled. It hadn’t occurred to her that what she said to the dolphins would be overheard by him as well. Horse-hearted as her friend Onua was, the older woman didn’t have enough wild magic to actually speak to the ponies in her charge. But when Daine looked at Miri’s uncle with her magic, she saw that he shone with a bronze light, not as powerful as Daine’s, but more powerful than any other she’d seen. 

“Do you two want an actual introduction?” called Miri, amused, from the shore. “Farrow, this is Daine. Daine, this is my mother’s brother, Farrow. He’s being lazy today and not helping with the catch. Sarge would flay him.” 

Farrow laughed. He had the same snub nose as his sister and niece.

“Miri teases,” he explained to Daine. “But some of the other fishermen complain when I spend too much time out on the boats. They think I have an unfair advantage.” 

His eyes twinkled. 

“You mean the dolphins help you catch fish?” asked Daine

“When they’re so inclined. They were always bright to start with. I used to think that’s why I could talk to them – they’re not so different from us men. But,” he acknowledged, “some of the other fishermen say I've made them too smart. They think we have to fight with them for the fish." 

Is that true? she asked the dolphins. 

One of the dolphins whistled a laugh. 

We like Farrow! he said. So sometimes we push the fish towards his net. And besides, it's funny when the other landmen get angry!

The rest of the pod chortled their agreement, and one broke into what Daine could only assume was an impression of one of the angry fishermen. The dolphins had certainly picked up on a goodly amount of curses and oaths.

What else have you learned? Daine asked them. 

There was an instantaneous clamor as the dolphins all began to pour images and words into her mind. And then, at the indignant clicking of one of the older females, they pulled back and began to rearrange their thoughts and stopped speaking all at once. 

In her mind, the dolphins showed Daine some of the new ways they’d begun to hunt since their contact with Farrow. They were using complex strategies and tactics that she’d never heard of animals using before. They used tools and taught their children the use of them as well. Their language was becoming more creative – they’d started developing swears of their own, and something that sounded like a sea chanty. They liked the humans songs and jokes and wanted more for themselves. 

These dolphins were _smart_ , exceptionally so. Since she’d first encountered dolphins, she’d found them to be intelligent and playful, but she could sense hints of organization in their minds here. Was this the result of so much time spent with Miri's uncle? Was this what she had done to Cloud? To the wolves back home?

Shaken, she pulled away from their minds slightly and cast her own out further into the sea. She found large schools of fish, a pair of otters, curious and giggling as her mind brushed against theirs, and, farther out, a sea turtle, ancient and wise, and then, at the limits of her net, a sharp intelligence that flared silver when she touched and, for a second, probed back and silver light splintered across Daine’s inner vision. 

Daine gasped, breaking contact. Miri’s uncle looked at her, concerned. 

“Are you all right?”

“Yes,” said Daine. She shook her head. She wondered what exactly she had touched. It had felt like an Immortal, but not an unfriendly one. She smiled weakly. “I think I maybe stretched myself too far after riding all day.” 

Both Miri and Farrow looked unconvinced, but neither challenged her on it. 

“We should be getting in anyway,” she said, looking at the horizon. The sun had nearly set in the time it had taken the dolphins to share their knowledge. It was now just a tip of orange against the gleaming sea. Daine gathered herself and flashed Miri a teasing look. “Or else your ma’ll be in a right snit.” 

Miri snorted. “Please. Numair’d be the first member in the search party if we were gone too long. But I’m getting hungry anyway, and watching you two talk silently to dolphins isn’t nearly as fun as you’d imagine.” 

She stretched and grinned at Daine. 

“I’ll race you back,” she said. “Last one has to help my ma with the dishes.” 

And she was off, leaving Daine to wade back to shore and follow back with Farrow. 

\-----

That night, Daine dreamed of the sea. She was deep beneath the water, suspended in the endless blue. The thick taste of saltwater filled her mouth, but it wasn’t gagging. It was familiar. She moved through the water effortlessly. But she was alone. She was lonely. She missed her family. 

How long had it been since she’d seen them? Many years. Her mind filled with visions of Ma and Granddad, arguing over dinner. Of her kit, curly-haired, plump, barely walking when she’d had to leave him. She remembered her husband, too, though not fondly, and then her beautiful sisters and brothers. She missed their voices, their bodies flying around her through the waves, their songs and dances upon the shore. She had heard one of them, briefly, just this day. But she could not find them.

She was lost. 

Beneath the waves, she began to cry out, hoping for someone to hear her. 

\-----

Daine woke with the feeling that someone wanted to talk to her. It was still dark out, too early for even the fishermen to be up and at their boats, but Daine sensed it was closer to morning than midnight. 

She sat up, and Miri muttered indistinctly next to her but did not wake. Daine could hear Numair's quiet, even breathing across the room, interspersed with Kitten's trills and chortles. Even more distantly, she could make out the ocean's constant crashing. She pushed past the physical noises and listened hard with her mind. 

Something definitely wanted to talk to her.

Numair didn’t stir at all as Daine passed him carefully, walking in her stocking feet. Outside, she placed her boots down and stepped into them, casting about for the animal that had woken her. There were no animals in the immediate area vying for her attention. Daine frowned. Usually, an animal would find her if they needed help, unless they were too badly hurt. But she didn't sense pain, only an insistent curiosity. And then she realized, of course, she was by the ocean. If a seabound creature wanted to speak with her, it could hardly grow legs and walk up on land to do so. 

What do you want? she called out. Are you hurt? 

There was no reply, none, at least, that felt like words, only a redoubled insistence to speak with Daine. She tried to get a grasp on what kind of creature was calling her - it felt seal-like, playful and curious and a little lazy - but it was too different from any seal Daine had ever spoken to for her to feel comfortable saying it was such. 

Maybe it was a seal, she thought. Maybe Miri's uncle had made them more intelligent, too. 

She followed the tugging towards where the beach smoothed into a sandy cove, but once she passed the dunes, the tugging animal curiosity disappeared. 

She stood on the beach alone. A heavy fog had rolled in overnight, and it clung to her nightdress and hair, chilling her. She could tell the sun was starting to lift above the horizon, however, as the fog was turning to a pearly gray. It made Daine feel almost stranded, adrift and cut off. It was a sensation similar to what she'd felt at the mountains at times, when low clouds would sink down and cover the farm house, cutting them off from the rest of the world. 

There was a sound behind her, and Daine whirled, hand going automatically to the badger's claw that hung around her neck. 

A woman stood before her. A completely naked woman.

Daine blushed scarlet, and hastily let go of the claw. 

“I’m sorry!” she said. “I didn’t realize anyone else was out here!” 

The woman smiled. She was very pretty, with sleek, dark hair and large, liquid black eyes. 

“It’s you,” she said. “I heard you calling.” 

“Calling?” said Daine, perplexed. “I didn’t call anyone.”

“Last night?” said the woman. She was obviously confused. Daine wondered if maybe the woman was mad. 

“Do you have a name?” asked Daine gently. She knew she should bring the woman back to Miri’s parents’. They would no doubt know who was supposed to be taking care of her. 

“I am Kilda,” said the woman. 

“Daine?” called Numair’s voice just then. “Daine? Where are you?” 

“Numair!” said Daine, turning. “Stay where you are! I’m – ” 

But Numair emerged suddenly from the fog. He frowned when he saw her. 

“There you are. Kitten woke me up. She’s very upset. What are you – ”

And then his eyes landed on Kilda, and he stopped talking. 

Daine, who had heard of Numair’s proclivities for buxom young women, turned bright red. 

“Turn around!” she snapped. “And take off your cloak!”

Numair did as she demanded and held the cloak out to her. She took it from him quickly and gave it to the naked woman. 

“Here,” she said. “You should put this on. You’ll catch a cold.” 

Kilda frowned at Daine and then the cloak, and then her eyes traveled over Daine’s shoulder to Numair.

“Who is he?” she asked, a wariness to her voice. 

“That’s Numair,” said Daine. She pressed the cloak into the woman’s hands. “He’s a – ” She stopped herself from saying mage. Some people reacted badly to people with the Gift, and she didn’t want to spook this woman. 

“He’s my teacher,” she said. “Can you put the cloak on?” 

Kilda snorted, in a way that was reminiscent of Cloud when she was at her most grudging. But she pulled the cloak on over her shoulders and wrapped it around herself. She was tall for a woman, but Numair was tall by any standards and the cloak pooled blackly at her feet. 

“Thank you,” said Daine politely. To Numair, she said, “She’s decent. You can turn around now.” 

Numair turned and bowed low and graceful to the woman. 

“Milady,” he said, standing up. 

Daine snorted. Numair was a shameless flirt.

But Kilda seemed oblivious to it.

“You are very young,” she said to Daine. She seemed bothered by this.

Daine blushed scarlet, and Numair laughed.

“It’s best not to point it out to her,” he said teasingly. 

“I can handle myself,” said Daine. “Why’s it matter how young I am?” 

Kilda said nothing, but her eyes remained on Daine. Daine blushed harder. She turned away from Kilda, avoiding her disconcerting stare, and looked at Numair. She felt uneasy and on edge, something important sparking at the edges of her mind. 

“She’s – her name is Kilda. I think she’s lost.” 

Numair’s expression switched immediately from flirtatious to concerned.

“Lost? How so?” 

Daine shrugged. “I think we should bring her back to Miri’s.” 

She finally looked back at Kilda. Kilda was still staring at her. Could she tell there was something different about Daine? Nervous, Daine scuffed at the ground with her foot. 

“Would you come with us?” she asked, though a part of her wanted to leave this unnerving woman on the beach. And she still hadn’t found whatever animal it was that had needed help. 

Kilda nodded slowly. Her eyes flicked to Numair. 

“Of course.” 

\-----

“Who’s your family, sweetie?” said Miri’s mother kindly. She ladled out a bowl of leftover soup, quickly reheated, for Kilda and placed it at the table. She had reacted surprisingly well to Daine and Numair arriving just after dawn with a strange, barely dressed woman. “Do you know what town you’re from?” 

Kilda frowned at her. 

“I have a son. We lived in a town to the north.” 

“Lived?” prompted Numair. 

Kilda ignored him and sipped at her soup. Numair’s resulting frown made Daine giggle, which she quickly tried to cover as a cough. He obviously wasn’t used to being ignored by pretty young women. 

“What do you mean ‘lived’?” asked Miri, with an amused glance for Daine and Numair. She had already been awake when they’d shown up, readying to spend the day on the boats with her father.

Kilda answered this time, stirring her soup thoughtfully. 

“The town is no longer there.” 

That caused a stir among them all. Daine’s heart clenched cold in her chest. How could a town no longer exist? Something would have had to attack it. Her mind flashed to Scanran raiders, growing bolder by the month – and, indeed, Daine and Numair’s mission after their break here was to travel further north and investigate whether the Scanran raiders had Immortal assistance. 

A Scanran raid would explain Kilda’s strange behavior, too. She was in shock. 

“No longer there?” asked Daine. “What happened?” 

Kilda looked at her. She seemed to be studying Daine’s face closely. 

“I do not know.” 

\-----

They were unable to get anything else useful out of Kilda, and after some discussion it was decided Thea would take her into town and see if anyone knew Kilda’s family.

“There’s really nothing else we can do for her right now,” said Thea. “She can borrow some of Miri’s old clothes while we figure everything out, but hopefully we’ll find out who’s missing her.” 

“Come along then, Daine,” said Numair briskly, nodding approvingly in response to Thea. “Just because Miri has a break doesn’t mean we’re ceasing _your_ lessons.” 

Daine sighed but stood up. 

“Can we go to the tidepools?” she asked.

Numair smiled at her fondly. 

“May. And yes, we may go to the tidepools.” 

Daine huffed and went to gather what she would need for the day. As she did, she noticed Kilda, who still sat at the table, was glaring at Numair with an expression of total hate. 

\------

Daine soon let Kilda’s apparent loathing for Numair slip from her mind. Some women hated men, and with good reason often, she thought, thinking of Onua’s husband who had beaten and abandoned her. And if Kilda had recently been witness or victim to something more savage than that, it was no wonder she was leery around Numair. 

Besides, the tidepools were much more interesting. They spent the day there, Numair sunning himself on the rocks like a large cat and quizzing Daine on the anatomy of marine animals as she and Kitten hunted among the pools. They found a small, red octopus who spoke in crisp, elegant tones and wrapped a delicate tentacle around Daine’s arm in greeting. 

She tried speaking again as well with the starfish, and got only the vaguest sensations of _food_ and _sun_. She thought it must be like what talking to plants was like. Towards midafternoon, some of the dolphin pod she’d spoken to the day before showed up within hailing distance as well, and put on a show that sent Kitten into delighted trills and screeches. 

Daine had all but forgotten about Kilda until it came time to return to Miri’s home. Cloud, who had spent the day resting in whatever shade she could find and snorting derisively at Kitten and the dolphin’s antics, trotted up to Daine and nipped her on the elbow. 

She’s People, said Cloud, bluntly. 

Who? asked Daine. She scowled, rubbing at her elbow. 

The woman you found on the beach, said Cloud. She nipped at Daine’s elbow again. Who else would I be talking about?

Daine wrinkled her nose. What do you mean she’s People? People like me? 

Cloud snorted. No, not like you. Like me. 

If she were People, I’d be able to talk to her, she pointed out, frowning. 

Not when she looks like a two-legger. You don’t think you can. 

What makes you so smart then? asked Daine crossly; it had been a good day, but she could a feel a burn on her nose and a headache from the sun coming on. 

Because People know People, huffed Cloud, and she trotted ahead of Daine, flicking her tail dismissively. 

“Having an argument?” asked Numair, looking amused. 

“It’s nothing,” said Daine. “Cloud’s in a mood.”

Numair raised his eyebrow, but he wisely refrained from making any comments about how Cloud always seemed to be ‘in a mood.’

\-----

It was near dark when they finally returned to the house, and Thea rushed out to meet them. 

“I couldn’t stop her!” she said, eyes wide with distress. “Master Numair – I’m so sorry!” 

Numair gripped her elbow. 

“Couldn’t stop what? What’s wrong?” 

But before Thea could answer, the door to Miri’s home swung open once more and Kilda stormed out. Her mouth was twisted in a snarl. 

“Where is it?” hissed Kilda. 

“Where is _what_?” asked Daine, but Kilda was looking at Numair, not at Daine.

“Where is it?” repeated Kilda, stalking forward. There was a dark, fiery look in her eyes. “She’s just a kit!” she said, gesturing at Daine. “She’s too young! You can’t keep her like this!” 

Numair looked totally bewildered.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. He looked at Daine helplessly, and she shrugged, equally baffled. 

“Liar!” spat Kilda. “You’ve stolen her skin! You’ve imprisoned her!” 

Stolen her skin? thought Daine. She had never heard such an expression before.

“I am in no way keeping Daine against her will,” said Numair slowly. He held his hands up peacefully. “I understand a young woman traveling alone with company such as mine can look untoward. But I swear my feelings towards Daine’s are purely ones of friendship and the fondness of a teacher for a talented pupil.” 

Daine rolled her eyes. Trust Numair to talk like he was at court in a situation like this. It didn’t seem to have any effect on Kilda anyway. She was still advancing on Numair, and _that_ was starting to make Daine feel nervous. Numair was holding Kitten. If Kilda attacked him, he wouldn’t be able to defend himself without dropping the baby dragon. 

Kilda lunged towards Numair, hand out like a claw. But Daine had been expecting it and she darted forward, ducking beneath Kilda’s arm and catching Kilda’s chest with her shoulder. Daine knocked Kilda to the ground. Daine stood over her, feeling embarrassed. She had accomplished what she meant to, but she wasn’t used to physically scrapping and she didn’t want to hurt Kilda. 

But she wasn’t going to let her attack Numair, either. 

“Daine!” said Numair, sounding disgruntled. 

Daine ignored him. She was still watching Kilda, who stood slowly. 

There was a tense, ugly silence. Kilda looked cornered; her expression reminded Daine of a trapped animal. Kilda bared her teeth, and then she leapt past Daine and bolted into the night. 

Daine ran after her. 

Behind her, Daine heard Numair break into a run as well. She had reacted first and he had to put Kitten down, so she had several yards on him. But Numair, with his much longer legs, would catch up with her soon. 

Cloud! she shouted in her mind. Stop him!

"Mithros's – _Cloud_!"

There was a yelp and a thud as Numair was plowed to the ground. Daine hoped Cloud hadn't bit him. She sent a silent apology to Numair and a thank you to Cloud and kept running. Kilda's white legs flashed in the darkness ahead of her. She was headed towards the beach. 

At the dunes, Kilda stopped suddenly, and dropped down. It looked like she was digging in the sand. She stood up, holding something in her hands. Daine had almost caught up to her now. 

“Kilda!” she called in frustration. 

Kilda looked at her from over her shoulder. Daine was closer, and she could see Kilda held a heavy fur. 

“I’ll come back,” said Kilda, and it struck Daine as a promise, not a threat. “You won’t be trapped here.” 

She sprinted the last of the distance to the sea, throwing the fur over her, and where a woman had been, there was only a dark shape that soon disappeared into the waves. 

Daine stood there in shock. She had followed Kilda all the way to the water, and the sea rose up as she stood there and covered her feet, soaking through her boots.

“ _Daine_!” thundered Numair, finally catching up. Daine could feel his presence at her back.

“She disappeared,” said Daine, before Numair could launch into the lecture she knew he wanted to give. 

She turned. Numair was stalking towards her, but he stopped at her words. 

“Disappeared?” he said, face knitting in a frown. “How?” 

“Into the sea,” said Daine, walking towards him. “She had – she picked something up out of the sand. Some kind of fur, I think, and she put it on when she got to the water and then she was gone.” She looked at Numair. “Do you think she’s a mage like you? Could she have turned into something?” 

Numair hesitated. “It’s possible, but… I think I would have recognized another mage who had such a power. There are not many places in the world one can learn to disappear or change shape, nor many mages who can do either.” 

Daine nodded. So he didn’t think Kilda was a mage. That was what Daine had felt as well. 

“Cloud said she was People,” she said quietly. “That’s what we were talking about when we were walking back. But I didn’t believe her.” She owed her pony an apology. 

“As in an animal?” said Numair. He looked troubled. 

Daine nodded again. “Yes. Do you think… Could she be some kind of Immortal? Something we haven’t encountered yet?” 

“Wouldn’t you have been able to sense it?” 

Daine hesitated. She played with the hem of her sleeves and then looked at Numair. 

“I think maybe I did. The morning I heard her, I felt something strange, and like someone – some creature – was calling me. It stopped when I found her, but the whole time I’ve been around her, I’ve felt kind of uneasy. I don’t think I was expecting an Immortal to look so… human.” 

Numair hummed thoughtfully.

“You can’t communicate with Stormwings like you do with animals, can you?” 

Daine glared. “No. I’ve never tried. But I know I couldn’t. They’re evil.” 

“Evil has nothing to do with it, Daine. I’d theorize instead it has to do with them looking and communicating like humans – to a certain point. When Kilda appears as human, you’re unable to talk to her like you would with Immortals that look and communicate primarily like animals.” 

Daine considered this. 

“Do you think,” she said, after a moment, “when she looks like… whatever she looks like when she’s not a human, I’d be able to talk to her like I do with Cloud?” 

Numair tapped the side of her nose. 

“I’d hypothesize exactly that.” 

\------

Miri and her father and Farrow had returned by the time Daine and Numair came back to the house. Daine let Numair step inside and explain what had happened, while she went to Cloud to apologize. It took some doing, and when she finally went inside, the others had all been caught up, and Numair kneeled on the floor, gathering his scattered possessions. 

“What happened?” asked Daine, kneeling beside him. 

“She tore through my bags,” said Numair, sounding perplexed. “She was looking for something.” 

He looked up at Miri and her family. 

“Do any of you know of any stories, anything passed down, that might explain what Kilda is? If she is an Immortal?” 

They all looked each at other and then Miri’s father spoke. He was a quiet man, content to let his more vivacious daughter and wife speak and plan. He was weather-lined with a gravelly voice, and he spoke slowly. 

“My grandmother used to tell me stories about people who lived in the ocean, who looked like seals. She said they would come on shore looking like seals and shed their skin, and after that, they looked like men and women. She said if you took one of their skins while they were a human, they’d have to listen to whatever you said. Fishermen would wait sometimes for some of the women to appear and then steal their skin so they could make them their wives.” 

Daine turned cold. 

“That’s _wrong_.”

Farrow shrugged and spoke up. 

“I’ve heard those stories as well. There are some that also say those of us who speak with the sealife are descended from those people.” 

Daine scoffed at that. “There’s no ocean within hundreds of miles of Galla,” she said. “And I can speak with the dolphins same as you.” 

Farrow looked at her. “Maybe you’re descended from something else, then.” 

Daine didn’t like the sound of that. She was as human as anyone else, thank you very much. 

“Nonsense,” said Daine, standing up from the ground. “But if I can talk to her like I can everything else, I’ll go down to the ocean tomorrow and see if she’s still around. Maybe she’ll tell me why she’s so upset and we can fix it.”

“Are you sure?” said Numair, an edge of anxiety to his voice. 

“I’m sure,” said Daine crossly. She glared at him. “ _I’m_ not the one she doesn’t trust.” 

\----

After some thought, she went to the cove she had met Farrow at. It would be private and Daine could speak to Kilda alone. She also knew Numair didn’t know where it was, so there was no chance of him following her in a over-protective huff and ruining everything. 

She went in the morning, just as the fog was beginning to clear. 

The dark head of a seal bobbed above the waves. Its gleaming eyes settled on her, and Daine’s skin prickled with strangeness. 

Kilda? she asked tentatively.

What have you called me for, sea-sister? came back Kilda’s cool, worried tone.

Daine hesitated. She didn’t want to lie, but she wasn’t sure how else to get Kilda to shore. 

I wanted to talk to you, she said. Which wasn’t a lie. 

You said you could help me. 

There was a flicker of excitement from Kilda, and Daine felt sick with guilt. She was lying to her. 

The seal swam quickly to shore, and once it had beached itself, the skin fell away, and Kilda rose from it, gleaming and white, her dark hair falling past her shoulders in black waves. 

“Thank you,” said Daine, cheeks burning. 

She darted forward and grabbed the skin. It was heavy and the fur was thick and dark, gleaming with water. When she looked at it with her mind, it burst with magic – the bright bronze of wild magic but shot through with silver, an immortal’s magic.

Kilda froze; she bared her teeth in anger and fear.

Daine stared at her and took a step back. The water on the pelt was soaking through her shirt. 

“How dare you?” hissed Kilda, her eyes were furious but she was clearly helpless, unable to fight back or run away. Jerkily, she took a step towards Daine, as if reluctantly called by Daine’s step back while Daine held her skin.

Daine was overcome by a fresh surge of guilt. What she was doing was no better than holding a wild creature against its will. And Kilda had only come because she thought Daine needed her help. She placed the skin down and stepped away, ashamed. 

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I wanted to talk to you without you running away.” 

Kilda crossed quickly to her pelt and snatched it up, holding it to her chest protectively. 

“Thank you,” she said quietly. 

Daine sat in the sand. 

“Don’t thank me,” she said wearily. “I shouldn’t’ve done it. It’s yours. I’ve no right to have tried and taken it from you.” 

Kilda gave her a cautious look. 

“Why did you try to take it? You know what it is like to have yours taken.” She snorted. “Perhaps the tall man does not know what you are and someone else has yours?” 

Daine shook her head. 

“I took it because I wanted to talk to you without you running away. I’m not – I’m not whatever you think I am. I’m not whatever _you_ are. I’m human.”

Kilda looked at her. She was silent for a long moment, and Daine thought she might actually burst into tears. 

“You are not one of my clan, no,” she said eventually. “But you are not one of theirs either. You are like my son.” 

“What do you mean?” asked Daine. “What was your son like?”

“You’re of this world, and of another. And someday you’ll have to choose.” 

Daine clenched her teeth and bit back her immediate response. She was human, that was it. She’d made her choice when she’d left the wolf pack. 

“What did your son choose?” she asked instead. “What did he have to choose between?”

Kilda was silent once again, and when she spoke, she didn’t look at Daine. 

“His father was human. I do not know which world he chose. Men find our skins and take us as their wives – that is the name men have for us, _sea wives_ – as if we were meant solely for them, not realizing we have families of our own. My son’s father was one such man. I found my skin and fled before my son was two years old. But I had always intended to come back to him when he came of age, to join me and my family.”

“But you weren’t able to.”

Kilda shook her head sadly. 

“A wall was placed between these oceans and the oceans of my home. But one day, I felt the ground beneath the oceans open up. I was pulled away from my family and swept here, back to this realm. I thought finally I could find my son. If a child is born between a human and one of my kind, if they don’t choose the sea when they come of age, they die as humans.”

Daine reached out and touched Kilda’s arm, much like she might touch the flank of an anxious horse. 

“Do you know how long it’s been?” she asked. “Since the wall got put between this realm and the immortal realm?”

Kilda shrugged. “We live forever, as long as we do not leave the sea. We do not put much stock in time.” 

Her eyes clouded. “But you mean it has been a long time.”

Daine looked at her sadly and nodded. 

“Hundreds of years,” she said. “Humans… we don’t live that long. Your son…” 

“My son would have died a very long time ago.” 

Daine nodded again. 

Kilda looked out over the sea. 

“And my family… I have been looking for my family. I left my son on the land, but I cannot find my people among the waves either. They may all still be on the other side of the wall?” 

“Yes,” said Daine. 

Kilda looked contemplative. “Then whoever took the wall down – can they send me back?” 

Daine thought of Kitten’s mother and hugged herself. 

“We don’t know how yet. We don’t know who took the wall down.” 

“Then there is nothing for me here,” said Kilda. 

“There are people, there are good people in this village. My friend Miri – her family, if you ever need any help, I’m sure they’d give it to you. And I can…”

But Daine didn’t know what she could do. She couldn’t bring Kilda to Corus, far from the sea. She could tell her to go south, to Pirate’s Swoop. If Kilda were to fit in anywhere, she would fit in there. But she couldn’t offer Kilda back her family. 

“You have been kind enough,” said Kilda. “And I have caused you enough trouble. It was good, at least, to have some hope for a moment. And I will live long enough to again see my kin.” She squeezed Daine’s hand. “Good-bye, Daine.” 

Kilda took up her pelt and pulled it over her head and shoulders. Daine watched, amazed, as it covered her completely and she shrank, in the space of a smooth second, until only a black-eyed seal remained, coiled with silver in Daine’s mind’s eye. 

The seal – Kilda – looked up at Daine, and then it slid into the water. Daine watched her go. 

Good-bye, she said, and then a sudden question occurred to her.

Kilda! she called. I want to ask you something!

Yes? came the response, and an immense swell of sadness overtook Daine for a moment, Kilda’s own grief, so much harder to avoid now that Daine was speaking directly to her mind.

You said humans call your kind sea wives. What do you call yourselves?

She sensed the tiniest bubble of amusement. 

Selkies, replied Kilda. Thank you, sea-sister. I hope to one day see you again. 

I hope to see you again, too, said Daine, but Kilda was already fading fast out of reach, and Daine wasn’t sure if she heard her. 

\----- 

She walked back towards Miri’s, her heart heavy. She hadn’t been able to help Kilda at all. 

She was annoyed, though not really surprised, when she ran into Numair halfway there.

“I do worry about you,” said Numair petulantly at her expression. “You’re very worrisome.” 

“I’m sorry,” said Daine, though she wasn’t. 

Something in her face or tone must have given away her sadness, because Numair’s expression switched to one of deep concern. 

“Were you able to find her?” he asked. “Are you all right?”

“Yes,” said Daine. “Yes.” She breathed in deeply. “Numair, she’s lost her whole family.” 

She almost broke down as she explained to him what she had learned. Numair listened without interruption, and when she was done, he touched her hair, eyes soft.

“She’ll find a home again, magelet,” he said kindly. “You and I managed it fine in the end.” He smiled. “And she’s already managed to find a friend.”

Daine looked up at him; her eyes felt watery. Numair was her teacher and her friend, and he had fled his home just as she had had to flee hers. She wondered of his own family. Had he been forced to leave them behind when he fled Carthak? Or had he been forced to leave them earlier, when he gave up the name Arram Draper to become Numair Salmalin. 

Would he go back, to any of it, if he could?

It seemed too sensitive a question to ask. 

She hugged him suddenly, tightly, and he let out a soft noise of surprise and patted her back. 

“I’m glad we did,” she said. 

The sea was to her back and she could hear his heart beat against her ear.


End file.
